Jamison’s Roaring Donkey

If you’re looking for your run of the mill bar with décor that is trying more than some then this is your place. If you’re looking for craft cocktails this is not the place. I was a bit mislead by the cocktail menu and the reviews here. I was expecting a great craft cocktail but what I got was a sugary mess that I could barely finish. The bartender put no care into the drink, didn’t measure anything, no garnishments — nothin’. Even the glass was sticky when I received it. Service was eh, they had the doors open and there were a ton of flies, you could also smell smokers smoke billowing in. So, if you’re into the normal, no expectations bar scene then this is the place for you. I’m not a normal bar goer so when I do, I want it to be great. This isn’t a bar I’ll be back to. Props for them allowing dogs though! I’ll give them that!

Great drinks, great staff, great service. The Donkey is already a Petaluma favorite!

This place has got the shit together, always fully staffed and working hard. They make awesome drinks too, their habiscus mule is one of the best mules I’ve ever had. Friendly atmosphere and great live music

***UPDATE*** This place has gotten their legs underneath them. The menu has expanded to accommodate more beer, wine and an expansive selection of cocktails and liquor.
They have expanded their staff and the quality of service has increased exponentially. Everyone is friendly and it’s a very welcoming atmosphere.
Their trivia night is second to none, hosted by the owner himself. I regularly introduce more friends to their Trivia Tuesday. Brian always has free swag to give out to winners, runner-​ups and excited parties. I don’t often win but I always go home with an awesome prize.
*BONUS*… They are pet friendly! My husky Kira accompanies me every time I come, and her presence is more than welcome.
This has become my go-​to watering hole in Petaluma!

If you want to have good time in Petaluma this Is one of the better bars to go to downtown. They usually have live music which keeps the house a rockin and if you want a good mule or craft beer this is the place to be! The only problems I see is they need a bigger dance floor and more restrooms. Oh yeah sometimes there’s comedy in the small room and I guess you can rent it for your corporate functions. Guarantee you will have a good time just watch out for the drunks?

Great Mosow Mules stick to their specialty drinks tried a Lemon Drop. not so good… but the bartender was so awesome and fun… great atmosphere…

I’m a local – so I’m always looking for a cool bar in town and I want them to succeed! This is a cool place – music some nights for the 20’s crowd. Football on weekends. Hipsters. I am a lover of Bloody Mary’s and heard they had a Sunday ‘Bloody Mary’ bar so I’m here to check it out. Great selection of mules too. They love Jameson here!
One comment that I’d be remiss to ignore – a local older man w a neurological issue was ‘eating’ out of the condiments… bacon, mozzarella, pickles etc. I told the bartender and to his credit he immediately removed all the condiments and washed the trays and replaced them. Right response!
Pool table. Spacious and friendly. Right in our own little Main Street. Check it out!

Flys all over the bar, and they are not flying. Bartender nice, but it seems if your friends you get served quicker. Flys are never a good sign.

I prefer this place during the week, or early on the weekend before it gets wild. The drinks are good, the service is nice, and the prices are fair for the pours. Darts and Shuffleboard are awesome.
I’m not a huge fan of the late night crowd this place attracts, they are loud, rude, and from what I saw watching several people order and tip the bartender… cheap. That’s a lot coming from a girl who loves divy bars and the usually sketchy characters that go along with that scene.

Been here a few times. My wife and I like stop in before dinner out. Great Moscow Mules and a bunch of variations if you’re into that.

My buddy and I stopped by here after hearing they had a shuffleboard table and he was looking for some revenge after being schooled at the seriously-​in-​need-​of-​repair board at the Silver Peso in Larkspur.
It was clean and cool and fairly empty on a weekday. We had great service, a great selection of beer, and the shuffleboard table was top-​notch and in perfect condition. I still beat him.
Wish we lived closer!

If you like your bartenders drunk, the tab doctored, and your service sh$! Than this is the place for you.

Wow, this is the first time I feel like I have been in a real bar in Sonoma County. Not a nice bar or a restaurant bar, or a pub, like a real live bar. People come here to drink. Why you ask? First off they dont have food so if you are here you’re drinking. Secondly, they have multiple bartenders, a great tap beer list full of goodies, and an insane rendition of the Moscow Mule.
My wife and I cam in on a Saturday around 10 pm and snagged the last 2 bar stools. the place was about 80% packed which is a great sign at 10 pm as most peoples evenings were just getting started. I had their blood orange mule and my wife had the Lagunitas IPA on draft. Service was friendly, quick and attentive. The mule was delicious!
Im looking forward to going back and trying a few other variations of this beverage. This bar and Mario & Johns are my two go to spots for drinking in my new hometown.

This place has «nice» drinks. My complaint has to do with the owner’s (locally known as the guy in the bow tie) girlfriend. Sitting at the bar, enjoying an A’s game and I over hear her more or less calling my girlfriend (quietly watching the game) out for drinking at the bar and not at a lower table (with the «other girls»). Way to make this a comfortable place for everyone– the legacy of this location (stabbing, date rape drug etc) continues.
P. s. Come here for non-​stop Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 tunes.

First out in Downtown P. This venue was pretty quiet on a Sunday night. But it was roommate night so we wanted to grab a drink. The venue is cool, and the drinks are great, good beers on tap, jamison on tap. few good sized TVs showing the dubs game. The bartender was chill, she told us about coming here when there are more festivities going on. Def will come back and update.

You can read my article, as it appeared in the Petaluma Argus-​Courier, here:
You can read my extended article on
here:

Went for trivia and S.F. beer takeover. Great selection, I will most certainly be back when I’m trolling around down town Petaluma again.
Fun place.

If lived in Petaluma, this would be my go-​to bar.
Jamison’s Roaring Donkey has everything you could possibly want from a drinking establishment — great adult beverages, friendly bartenders, games to play while you imbibe (eg shuffle board, pool, etc.), and plenty of weekly entertainment (Trivia Tuesdays, Open Mic Wednesdays, live music on weekends, and stand-​up comedy one night of the month). There’s no mixology pretense here which you might find in SF. But don’t be mistaken, it’s no dive bar either.
You’ll find a number of great beers on tap. And if you like shots of whiskey and Fernet, they’ve got you covered as well. In fact, above the bar they keep an electronic tally of the number of whiskey shots sold. If memory serves me correct, it was over 6,000! Way to go, Petaluma! And if you like more sophisticated cocktail, they offer a whole menu devoted to variations of the Moscow Mule (made with all kinds of spirits and ingredients).
As I mentioned before, the bartenders are all super chill. On the three different times that I’ve been here, each person who served me was friendly and happy to take my order (no snooty attitude here!). When I ordered a Fernet on my last visit, the bartender poured himself a glass and joined me in a toast.
This is definitely my kind of bar. Can’t wait to come back the next time I’m in P-​Town.

I’ve only been to this place on three occasions, but won’t be back for a fourth. Each visit was a version of the first: lack of attention from the bartender, a mediocre/​uninspired Draft selection and a fairly lame vibe overall.
My friend and I were one beer and out the first two times I went and on the most recent visit, with my girlfriend, we were completely blown off by the bartender on duty. It was laughable, because the place was (maybe) 20% full. Very strange. No eye contact. No welcome. No reason to stay.
It’s a shame, because the interior has a decent feel and the music room has great potential… but, unfortunately, there’s nothing special going on here.

I want to like this place. But in my 2 experiences so far, I would say the big factor that the Roaring Donkey lacks is: Effort.
Great craft beers on tap, but the 3 beers I have ordered all were poured with little to no head. That’s the bar’s fault, not the brewery. My friend and I recently ordered 1 beer each, drank them, and asked for our check. The bartender replied with, ‘sure,…what did you guys order again?’ This was at 7pm on a Saturday and the bar was maybe 20% full.
I hope things get better. Would be a shame to waste a great location with such potential.